June 2023

Is Hou You-yi Leaning Into Nuclear Advocacy to Pacify the KMT?

Brian Hioe
KMT presidential candidate Hou You-yi has begun to lean into advocacy of nuclear power in the course of campaigning at a time of flagging ratings. Hou currently polls worse than former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je, who is the presidential candidate of the TPP and KMT chair Eric Chu has had to fend off rumors that the KMT is considering replacing Hou as its candidate. Hou is calling for restarts of nuclear plants in Shihmen and Guosheng, the highly controversial No. 4 nuclear reactor, and extending the lifespan of the Ma-anshan plant...
EnglishJune 2023Politics5 min read

Speaking Out Against Formosa Plastics’ Wrongdoings the World Over: An Interview with Organizers

Brian Hioe
New Bloom’s Brian Hioe spoke with Sharon Lavigne, Diane Wilson, Nancy Bui, and Father Peter Nguyen Van Hung on Lavigne, Wilson, and Bui’s trip to Taiwan late last month to attend a Formosa Plastics’ shareholders meeting. This was to bring up criticism of Formosa Plastics’ environmental and climate justice wrongdoings internationally, whether in Louisiana, Texas, or Vietnam, as part of the Monitor Formosa Alliance....
EnglishEnvironmentalJune 2023PoliticsSocial Movements22 min read

Corporal Punishment, Student Representation Prove Linked Issues on Taiwan’s Campuses

Brian Hioe
The Control Yuan issued a report in April, linking issues of violence in schools to the lack of the student representation on school committees. This connects two issues that have been widely reported on as an issue facing Taiwanese schools as of late, that being the lack of representation on school committees of students and issues of corporal punishment facing students...
EnglishJune 2023PoliticsSocial MovementsYouth Movements6 min read

Referendum Proposal to Speed Up Executions Reflects Continued Social Fixation on Capital Punishment

Brian Hioe
The Central Election Commission stated in April that a referendum proposal by the Taiwan Lily Justice Association (TLJA) was unlikely to qualify to be put to the vote this year, as part of the national referendum process. The referendum proposal would be to expedite the time that executions take place, in requiring that executions take place within six months of sentencing...
EnglishJune 2023Politics5 min read